I am absolutely new to karate, and have found a kyokushin school near me. I am curious what experience you have had with kyokushin vs. other schools of karate. I have read that kyokushin is more focused on actual contact sparring than other schools, but beyond that I can't tell the difference.

In broad terms, how does kyokushin compare to other schools of karate, and do you think its good for a beginner such as myself?

I think Raul hit it on the points pretty well. It may be a bit straight forward in its approach to combat, sans the face punches, but you will learn how to throw some good body shots that won't just be for show.

ingo, It will largely depend on the specific instruction also.Lots of schools that teach the same styles teach differently.Our school is a goju school that is kata based self defense,but also incorporates groundfighting.We do lotsof sparring at all ranges,but all goju schools do not do this.Go and check it out.If you think you can get what you want out of it,go for it.

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I think the level of contact depends on the individual school as much as the style. Koei Kan uses bogu gear so they can spar full contact. In the old days, the local Isshinryu schools allowed heavy contact. Not so much now that we're such a litigious society. I haven't heard of too many Korean-style schools that went in for much contact.